SteveShannon

And you also don't have to worry about what operating system you are using either. The RT Systems cables have worked with Linux, Mac and Windows 10/11 without issue for me.

Incorrect. The NMO mount takes the shield of the coax cable and creates the ground plane with the roof of the car. When you have it above the the roof on a roof rack, the shield doesn't get to roof to make the ground plane. You can use a 1/2" wave on a roof rack mount https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/cma-rs-660u. You can also use a ground plane disc if you wanted better performance, or to use a 1/4 wave whip https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-categories/antennas-mounts/antenna-accessories/misc-antenna-parts/11713-taf-disc346-detail

I was at my typical Thursday night radio coffee group get together last night. One of the guys had a good setup for a ground plane for a mobile antenna mounted on the rack behind the truck cab. I took a couple of photos to share on the group here. Might give a few people some ideas to try out.

Ok I came back to this radiation pattern and I think I'm understanding it a bit more.  Basically you need to think of it as angle and not distance.  So if you put the antenna at 20' and another antenna a mile away still at 20' then the gain is 9.77+/-. 
If you have that antenna on a mountain top at 400' and the same receive antenna at 20' the angle is going to be much greater and you follow that angle on the graph and where it connects with the blue line is the gain that you will have.  Power received will be determined by the square of the distance.
So from my shop to my house the angle is 0.52º so that keeps the gain pretty close to max.  Probably drops it by .5db or something like that.  Hard to even see it with the fat lines and the resolution of the graph.


 

All they really need to do is increase the diameter of the ground plane adapter to the same diameter as the antenna at its base. 

RT Systems has software for most, but not all, of the Wouxun radios. I know some do not like to pay for programming software but the $35 cost of the RT Systems is reasonable and is veery easy to use.

That’s defiantly true! 😉

https://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/splat.html

Thank you for posting a more concise description of what this thing is really made out of. The link @gortex2 posted wasn't as descriptive and had me assuming, and you know what they say about assuming, that it is that fancy new marketing speak that's so prevalent these days. They didn't even mention plating. This reminds me of going to Home Depot to buy a garden hose with "copper infused" fittings, which simply means anodized aluminum that is colored to look like copper or brass.
And yes, I do know what these differences are when it comes to metallurgy. I'm just not proficient posting from a smartphone. Yes, brass is made by alloying copper and zinc. Also, pure zinc or magnesium is used in sacrificial anodes in the corrosion prevention sector. And now that I see that they are using "zinc alloy" which indicates it's not pure zinc, not that it matters in this application. The primary reason these NMO mounts are being manufactured with "zinc" is it's much cheaper than brass, as you indicated. And requires very little machining, if any, as these mounts are die-cast. In my opinion, these are equivalent to Chinese pot metal. 
That said, I'm confident these mounts are still going to be quality from an electrical and mechanical perspective and one shouldn't have any second thoughts of using one. Call me old fashioned as I've been using quality brass NMO mounting kits for close to 40 years. Plus, I have a nice stockpile of kits to last me two lifetimes. No zinc for me.

That’s right, but not only that it’s not AM, which the air bands are.  If I knew how to unlock it to transmit on the Airbands I wouldn’t tell you.

While I'm all for a continued discussion, just in case anyone missed it it has been nearly ten years since OP posted this question. I hope he isn't still trying to make this decision. 😉

Just keep thinking about creative ways to justify spending the money. You'll give in sooner or later.
Me, I won't give up until I run out of plastic storage boxes to put them in. Then I'll wait for the Dollar store to get more in then buy another 20 to 30. That'll hold me for a while. 🫤

Most vehicles with the Auto Stop Start systems all use sealed and spill proof AGM batteries. AGM batteries are a whole lot safer than a standard flooded lead acid battery. And the Auto Stop Start system is standard on most newer vehicles now days. I do agree that you should always be cautious when working around any type of battery.

I’m Steve and I’m a radioholic.

The term best is really up to what criteria you apply, there is no absolute. I see all the big names mentioned here already and while I doubt Midland comes to mind for anyone using the term best I would add that if you need to get through a firewall, have a limited size hole in which to do that and you are not comfortable cutting and redoing the cable end or mount than the Midland mount might be best for you. It appears to be yellow brass (I couldn’t find documentation) and the cable end removes to go through tight spaces. I used one to connect my mobile and have no issues so far two years and counting. 

 

I use the Larsen's.

That Anytone (assuming it’s a 578 or 878) uses software that also allows importing external csv files, and in fact it supports “Roaming Zones” which allow the radio to automatically find the closest repeater based on its internal gps. And it can be very easily opened up to GMRS (I have the Alinco MD5XT which is basically an Alinco 878.
I also think the Wouxun radios can be programmed using RT Systems software, which can also import csv or tab files.
 

If you know you’re going to travel through another state you could download a file of all of the repeaters for that state and load them into Chirp to program your radio.

Premium level also allows you to form clubs in the forum software and download extracts of the repeater, which is pretty sweet for traveling people with radios that hold lots of channels. 

To answer my own previous question, Premium level members have no limit on the number of reactions. They also are allowed to post in the classified ads and delete their own posts.

Thank you. I saw your first post on this topic but hadn't seen an answer. I've been debating the Premium route just to avoid the adverts, 🙂. I did find that Premium could post in the classifieds; that's where I would've posted my batteries. Guess I'm going to have to man up and level up, lol

To answer my own previous question, Premium level members have no limit on the number of reactions. They also are allowed to post in the classified ads and delete their own posts.

I’m Steve and I’m a radioholic.

I’m Steve and I’m a radioholic.

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